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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28384482">Witching Hour</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/imjustheretohaveafantime/pseuds/imjustheretohaveafantime'>imjustheretohaveafantime</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Deceit | Janus Sanders Senses Lies, Idiots in Love, M/M, Secret dating, Swearing, and is also teleported where they are, both of them think they could never be forgiven by the other, i have three fics with this exact prompt and i'm ready to write even more, if i have to be the one to populate the healthy anxceit tag, negative self thought, neither of them did anything wrong actually they're just dumb, then so be it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 01:15:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,698</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28384482</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/imjustheretohaveafantime/pseuds/imjustheretohaveafantime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Deceit didn’t really have a problem with his lie sensing ability. They were somewhat useful if they knew how to control them.</p><p>That is, until he found himself, at three am, in the last place he’d want to be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Witching Hour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome back to me posting here my old ass works because I haven't written a single word in three moths. Enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite what Roman kept on saying, being a so called "lie detector" was not <em>fun</em>.</p><p>Or better, it would have <em>been </em>fun, without some of the side effects.</p><p>After all, having the whole right of calling on the other's bullshit was a pretty good advantage; he could have never denied the amount of... <em>interesting </em>changes that had brought to him.</p><p>Being accepted was the most obvious. It was a long process, and nowhere near complete  (it still hurt a bit, all the hesitation and side glances, even though he knew they all just needed to adjust), but it had officially started after he'd spent a whole night comforting Thomas, going over and destroying the truckload of lies his ex had spat on him. <br/>To Deceit, it hadn't really been a big deal. <em>Anyone </em>with a heart would have done that. <br/>For  the others, thought, it had been the occasion to finally start seeing him in a different light: he wasn't the "soulless villain who only aimed to hurt", not anymore. He was just a part of Thomas, trying to do his job as well as possible; it brought a pint of grey into their black and white vision, which at the end also helped <em>Remus</em>' acceptance.</p><p>From there on, it all became relatively easy; he got to know everyone better, a helping hand after another. You can learn way more about someone from their lowest point than from their highest and, oh well, these poor guys did have  some  deep falls. Roman's almost non existent self esteem, Remus' still not quite spent anger for the separation ( and the long needed conversation that followed between the two), Patton's struggles with depression and Logan's feelings of not being listened to; it was amazing how many new things you could learn just by being there, offering a shoulder to cry on and an ear to vent to.</p><p>Another good change was suddenly getting some help for <em>himself</em>, too, for things he didn't even realize he needed help for; cold blood related things, mostly. There was a whole new world of warm you could get by cuddling with someone that he had never experienced, and it was <em>addicting</em>. He also apparently had some kind of  "touch starvation" and even if he personally didn't believe it was much of a problem, the others (Patton and Roman being at first place) made their life mission to touch him as much as physically possible.</p><p>But as said before, there was a trick to it. The shady side of the medal, so to speak.<br/>A little, insignificant, small and totally not important side effect. <br/>That caused him to get teleported wherever a lie was told.</p><p>It was annoying for a number of reasons (first of which is that it did <em>not </em>work like a regular summon, meaning he'd get his hair destroyed and he would not be alerted before disappearing. You can figure out the kind of awkward situations he'd found himself trapped in), but the worst one, long term speaking, was that his powers grew with him.<br/>As a kid, it was way more manageable: detecting only big, obvious lies that were told once in a while. Maybe annoying for the liars themselves, but not as much for him.<br/>Then it shifted, more powerful and dreadful as the times went, until it not only recognized white lies, but also <em>lying to oneself.</em></p><p>Thankfully for his sanity, lies still had to be told <em>out loud</em> for him to be summoned; since the others knew pretty well about the situation, they tended to keep things quiet unless they specifically wanted for him to be there (even then, they usually preferred to go find him and ask. It was more polite) , so it did not happen as often as you'd think.</p><p>He'd never been brought to Virgil.</p><p>Which was <em>okay</em>, perfectly understandable. <br/>He wanted to be somewhat angry, to <em>spite </em>him, but how could he? Their past was not a pleasant one to remember.<br/>Sure, maybe Virgil was the one who left, but he didn't go for no reason. The Dark didn't treat anyone nicely; he'd only been the first with guts to follow  his plan.<br/>When Dee had been accepted, they had agreed not to destroy themselves for what already happened: they were all hurt in their own way, and there was no reason to blame each other over spilt milk.</p><p>He did not expect Virgil to take it as a reason to ignore him entirely.<br/>He'd spoken to Dee maybe four times in the past three months, and he had been forced to every time (be it for a video or Patton's mandatory movie nights). He didn't even look at him in the eyes, going as far as leaving whatever room Dee entered, and planning his entire schedule to encounter him as little as possible.</p><p>It was fine. Maybe a little rude, but fine.<br/>Despite whatever pact they may have made, he couldn't help that Virgil's trauma was very directly tied to him. <br/>Nobody would want to revive such bad memories, right? It wasn't his fault and he had no reason to feel bad about it.<br/>It was <em>fine</em>.</p><p>It was also a lucky thing that Dee was not affected by his own lies.</p><p>* * *</p><p>It takes very little to crush someone's act.</p><p>The most perfect lie can be broken with a single word, if said at the right time and place.</p><p>For example, Deceit claim of being "absolutely okay" didn't even need words to shatter: just a look, a sudden realization and the dread the fell in his stomach at the situation he'd found himself in.</p><p>Because currently, he was in Virgil's room.<br/>At three am.<br/>In nothing but his nightgown.</p><p>He had hoped, for a long second, to be mistaken: maybe it was a dream, a pathetic reminder of a mind that still hadn't moved on, or maybe another one of Remus' badly planned pranks.<br/>But a glance was enough for him to recognize the place; no amount of changes and decorations could take away the sheer sense of familiarity that had filled him in that moment.</p><p>Virgil had added fairy lights.<br/>They were nice, a faint purple glow to break off the sadness of the plain black walls, probably Patton's gift. <br/>There were also other things that were obviously gifts, but neither of them clashed the general aesthetic: a dark mahogany bookshelf (Logan's courtesy, he imagined) decorated a corner, right next to a giant purple plush that seemed to have been purposely torn apart and then badly stitched up, with buttons and glitter that were definitely Roman's mark.<br/>The spider plush <em>Deceit </em>had gifted was still there, too, untouched but not dusty.</p><p>He tried very hard not to think of the implication that brought.</p><p>Then he turned around and oh. <em>Oh</em>.<br/>That was the moment he knew for sure it couldn't be a dream.<br/>There was no mistake, no fabrication in those eyes. No amount of the twin's magic could recreate that shade of perfect, deep brown; they were every color and then none, honey sweet but deep and black as shadows, glossy and watery and reflecting the lights with a glistening rainbow that did nothing but make the picture even more angelic.</p><p>There was no mistaking them. Dee thought about little else.</p><p>They were different, too, making contact for the first time after <em>years </em>of shying away, of closing and  crushing up in hisses of disgust.</p><p><br/>There was still makeup under them.</p><p>Virgil could've just forgot it, of course. Yet the tear tracks, still red and sharp on his face, told a very different story. He probably didn't even go to sleep in the first place.</p><p>Dee stood there like an idiot, not knowing what to do. <br/>He stared, intensely, as Virgil's expression morphed from shock to confusion, to realization and fear, passing trough a feeling he couldn't really place (or maybe he didn't <em>want </em>to place. The line between the two had become very fine).<br/>Then he settled on a perfectly crafted mask of casual indifference, typical of his "broody guy" attitude.</p><p>"What are you doing here?"<br/>He was barely trying to hide the tiredness in his voice.</p><p>"I think you know that better than me. Who were you even lying to at three am?"<br/>Dee said, regretting his words the second they left his mouth.<br/>He could blame his brain (not thinking, as always, asking things in the most <em>insensible </em>way possible-), or the late time. Really, he knew the only reason was that he was weak, as weak as he'd <em>always </em>been, always for that same voice.</p><p>There was a pause. Virgil didn't answer immediately, instead getting up from his bed and crossing the room.<br/>He paused with a hand on the door, his back still turned and his head hung low.</p><p>"I'm sorry I dragged you here," He said, a whisper so low it was almost silent, "But you can go. It was nothing important anyway."</p><p>"Virgil..."</p><p>"Really. It's fine, <em>I'm</em> fine."</p><p>And there it was, bitter and heavy in the air, the sadly familiar bitter scent and taste filling the air, exactly  the same lie Dee was so used to say to himself every night. It was mixed too, both a lie to reassure him and to reassure <em>Virgil </em>himself, as if repressing all of the reasons why he <em>wasn't</em>  fine in the first place.</p><p>"Now, that was weak even for you."<br/>He said, faking arrogance and saltiness and confidence and everything he couldn't <em>feel </em>like at the moment, because Virgil was in front of him, obviously <em>hurt </em>and in pain and he <em>had  </em>to help - he didn't know what he would do otherwise.</p><p>"Dee, really..." Virgil sighed, passing a hand through his hair. "I really can't. Not to you."</p><p>It hurt.<br/>It hurt, deep into his chest and in places he didn't even <em>know </em>could hurt.<br/>He had dreamed, of hearing that nickname on his lips again but not like this, never like this, filled with rejection and probably hatred.</p><p>But he couldn't make it about himself, not now. He wouldn't be so selfish again.</p><p>"Listen, I know you don't want me around but - no, let me finish please, " he added, seeing the other's head rise a bit, probably in shame or offence. <br/>"Don't deny it. I'm not blaming you, you have every reason to hate me but, look.  It's three am. Nobody else is here and it will stay like this for another couple hours.<br/>You obviously have something that's bothering you so just, pretend I'm someone else, maybe, vent to me, use me as a punching bag if it can help, get those frustration out. Then we can go to sleep, and tomorrow none of this will be real."</p><p>He knew he sounded desperate, but he couldn't bring himself to care. <br/>He <em>was </em>desperate, because his stupid brain was still caught up in love and he couldn't just leave Virgil to hurt alone.</p><p>He was also scared. Very much so, the feeling like a flaming arrow in his stomach burning its way up his throat, turning everything to ashes, blocking his breath and choking his words. He couldn't stop it from its painful path, spitting fire into his brain as it whispered every possible, horrible outcome of his stupid actions.</p><p>A good thing he managed to finish that little speech, then, because he didn't think he would be able to say any more.</p><p>"<em>God</em>."<br/>Virgil spoke, sudden and loud, and Deceit's head sprung up. When had he looked down?</p><p>"God you, you want to kill me don't you?"</p><p>Then he turned to face him properly and oh, Dee was so fucked.</p><p>Virgil was a mess. His makeup had covered his entire cheeks, smudged when he tried to dry his tears, and it mixed with the marks from his pillow and the tears themselves. His hair fell down to hide half his face, spiking up in several different directions and looking like an overall disaster. The clothes were trashed, too, the signature hoodie hanging off one of his shoulders, with the spider pyjamas underneath doing nothing to better this look.</p><p>But he was smiling, a splitting grin that could've lightened up the whole mindscape by itself,  and he was absolutely <em>gorgeous</em>.</p><p>Virgil was talking, too, fast and gesticulating all the while, but Dee couldn't catch a single word.<br/>He was enchanted, and his poor braincells couldn't focus long enough to follow.</p><p>Then Virgil stopped abruptly, staring down at him.</p><p>"Are you, are you even <em>listening</em>?  Did you just gay panic through my whole heartfelt speech?"</p><p>Deceit did, in fact, gay panic through the whole speech, but hell if he was going to admit that.</p><p>"<em>Obviously</em> not, who do you take me for? I just disagree with," he made a vague gesture with his hands, "whatever you just said."</p><p>Virgil stared, unbelieving, for a moment.<br/>Then he started giggling and, oh, that was just <em>unfair</em>.</p><p>"Oh my god. Oh my fucking god you're a <em>dork</em>, a whole ass dork how did I even <em>manage </em>to fall for you I-"</p><p>He fell into giggling again, giving Dee time to reboot his system and understand what was being said.<br/>He failed.</p><p>"I- You- <em>What</em>?"</p><p>"That's what the speech was about, you dumb idiot. I <em>like </em>you, I have for a while."</p><p>Deceit brain stopped even trying to understand what was happening, instead opting for an absolute, total chaos.<br/>He started spluttering semi coherent sentences, hissing so much it made it difficult to properly open his mouth, because<br/>"You can't just throw something like this with no warning I'm so <em>underdressed</em>-"</p><p>Then one of his cells seemed to suddenly realize what their work was, and he remembered the reason he'd come into the room into the first place.</p><p>"Wait, why would you lie to yourself about <em>this</em>?   I used to flirt with you constantly, I thought it was obvious I would reciprocate."</p><p>The cute moment ended just like that. Virgil's face darkened, bangs coming down to cover his eyes once again.</p><p>"Key word 'used to'." he said, gaze focused intensely on his feet. "With all the shit that hit the fan? I thought you'd moved on.<br/>I <em>hoped </em>you moved on, because if you did I wouldn't have had to think about how much of a dick I've been."</p><p>"I think this is my turn to call you an idiot, then."</p><p>Virgil's head shot back up, hope and offence dancing across his features.<br/>Dee took his chance, moving forward and gently cupping his cheek.</p><p>"How could I <em>ever </em>move on from you?" He said, not daring anything louder than a whisper. <br/>"It's been <em>years</em>, Virgil, and the only thing I could think about was how much I've missed looking you in the eyes. I would go to sleep, every night, pretending I didn't feel the cold spot that used to be yours, pretending I didn't <em>loathe </em>my loneliness, forcing myself not to run at you right there and then. " </p><p><br/>He paused a second, taking a breath, </p><p><br/>"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Why would I want to lose you again?"</p><p>They looked into each other's eyes for a second, both held back by a long time of hesitations and walking on eggshells, not wanting to destroy the fragile perfection of the moment they'd created.<br/>Then Virgil shook himself up, rushing impossibly closer to him, until he wasn't sure were the division was.</p><p>"If you don't stop me right this second, I will have to kiss away <em>decades </em>of repression."</p><p>"Oh <em>please </em>do."</p><p>* * *</p><p>The next morning Patton was walking around the rooms, checking as usual if everything was alright before going downstairs to start breakfast.</p><p>He stopped near Virgil's room, his Dad Sense tingling from the slightly ajar door, fearing V could have had another nightmare, or worse.</p><p>Peeking inside, he got a perfect view of two lovebirds cuddling on the bed, clutching at each other like lost sailors alone at sea. <br/>He repressed his squeal, silently stepping back and closing the door behind him.</p><p>As he continued his path down to the twin's rooms, he couldn't help to smile to himself.</p><p>
  <em>"Took them long enough!"  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can come scream at me on the hellsite (affectionate) if so you desire.</p><p>https://gattonero17.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div></div>
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